Daybreak
n.hopeful, calmliterary
What it means
The point in the morning when daylight first becomes visible.
Reach for it when giving an early-morning time a fresh or quietly hopeful feeling
The field station opened its shutters at daybreak.
Choose between these
5- playful
sunup
when an informal regional voice suits the sentence
not when Its colloquial flavor can distract in formal or international writing.
- everyday
when either the first light or a figurative beginning may be intended
not when Dawn is more poetic and broader; daybreak is specifically the morning event.
- everyday
morning
when a broad, familiar period is precise enough
not when Morning covers several hours and cannot pinpoint daybreak.
- everyday
sunrise
when the sun itself appearing above the horizon matters
not when The sky can reach daybreak before the sun becomes visible.
- literary
first light
when the faintest useful light guides the timing
not when It may refer to a light level rather than the named transition into day.
Said against
3- nightfall
- dusk
- midnight
It naturally appears in
3- at daybreak
At daybreak, the rescue party resumed its climb.
- before daybreak
Owls were still calling shortly before daybreak.
- until daybreak
The lantern remained in the window until daybreak.
Where this comes from
- Wiktionary, English noun, sense 1: dawn, the first light of day opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.